We are familiar with terms like “mommy’s wrist,” “mommy’s thumb,” and “keyboard hand”, which are often mentioned on the internet or from the person around us. These could be caused by long hours staying in one posture or continuously using hands or arms during our everyday life or working habits.
Little do people know, these conditions refer to tendonitis, or de Quervain’s syndrome, which is an inflammation caused by repetitive friction between tendons and sheaths.
Tendons are like the string responsible for controlling our finger bending, tendons contract and our respective fingers bend. While the sheaths are the protective covers that wrap around tendons, once tendons move it moves inside sheaths. Therefore, overusing the nads can cause the tendons and sheaths over-rubbing against each other which lead to inflammation.
For example, mothers who often carry their infants or office workers who spend long hours using the mouse are prone to have these symptoms because we often forget to rest our hands properly or we do not train our hand muscles before.
Symptoms of tendonitis primarily include regional pain, especially when using hands or certain positions. Other symptoms can include finger movement restriction, difficulty in straightening fingers, some even may have triggering fingers. If these issues occur and are still not to treat nor rest properly, it may lead to long term hand or wrist pain and discomfort.
Without any falls or injuries history, if you feel pain when you band your finger or wrist at a certain angle, it could be because of tendonitis. To further prove it, you may try Finkelstein’s test to check whether it is tendonitis.
First, straighten your arm, with your thumb at the top and pinky finger at the bottom.
Second, bend the thumb and place it in the middle of the palm, wrap it with the rest of the four fingers and make it a fist.
Next, maintaining this wrist position, slowly bend the fist down toward pinky.
If there is pain in the wrist or fingers, this may be the tendonitis at the exact spot.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), tendonitis is often related to in sufficient Qi and blood, also poor circulation of Qi and blood. Therefore, with treatments such as acupuncture, Tuina, and internal medication can help to relieve the symptoms.
Acupuncture can relieve pain and promote blood circulation, while TuiNa helps relax tense muscles and tendons. Together with internal medication or muscle relief plaster, can help to get rid of the symptoms even more effectively.
Most of the patients are more concern about whether the tendonitis can be healed on its own without any treatment and how long will it take to recover.
The answers to the questions are depends on individual’s body condition and how severe the symptoms are.
Patients often wonder if tendonitis can heal on its own if left untreated and how long recovery might take. The answer is yes, but recovery time varies among individuals. Generally, mild tendonitis, with proper rest and care, can show improvement within weeks. However, some may still experience discomfort in the wrist or fingers even months later.
During the acute stage, while you are unable to get medical attention, the first thing to do is to rest your pain arm and avoid excessive use of the hand, or you may choose to use a thumb or wrist guard to limit your movement.
Then apply an ice pack to reduce pain and swelling and once the pain is reduced, you can use Guasha or massage thenar acupressure point to help relieve the discomfort.
Preventing tendonitis is also important, by adjust your working posture to reduce any compression or strain on hands. Also taking regular breaks to relax and stretch your hands from time to time during working hours. Last but not least, strengthening arm muscles also can help to reduce the risk of tendonitis. Reminder, training muscles are not suitable when you experiencing pain.
In short tendonitis is closely related to lifestyle. TCM offers a comprehensive approach to symptom relief. Early prevention and timely treatment can restore normal hand function and avoid long-term pain issues.
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